


Nothing to See Here

by flashofthefuse



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M, MFMM Year of Tropes, bottle episode, december trope amnesty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 04:56:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12904533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flashofthefuse/pseuds/flashofthefuse
Summary: Phryne and Jack find themselves in the dark. Literally





	Nothing to See Here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Quiltingmom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quiltingmom/gifts).



> I started this fic for the March trope challenge but abandoned it for a different idea. I've resuscitated it today in honor of Quiltingmoms birthday.
> 
> Happy Birthday my friend!

“I can’t imagine how this happened.”

“Can’t you, Miss Fisher?” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Are you implying this is my fault, Inspector?” Her voice rose to indicate the level of offense taken.

“If the sparkling shoe fits,” he grumbled.

Jack pouted. Why had he rushed over to her home tonight? What exactly had been the hurry? Their suspect was in custody. He wasn’t going anywhere. There was no reason not to wait until daylight to inform her of his capture.

He could be home right now, in his own bed, blissfully unaware. Instead he was here, wherever here was, and childishly taking out his frustration and embarrassment on her.

Phryne pouted. This hadn’t worked out at all as she’d hoped. They should be home now, in her parlor with a fine whisky, congratulating themselves on the break in their case. Or, better yet, tucked up in bed celebrating. She’d hoped her suggested field trip to search for the missing murder weapon would serve to take his mind off her unexpected visitor but things had taken a very dark turn. Literally.

If she could get her hands on him, she might be able to cajole him into a better mood, but she could only guess at his location. The sound echoed when he spoke, his voice bouncing around and making it hard to pinpoint where he stood.

“It’s so dark,” she lamented.

“Excellent observation.”

“Oh, enough already! We’re here. How we got here and determining who is—or isn’t—at fault is a futile effort.”

“Forgive me,” he said, dryly. “How dare I express displeasure with your, once again, ignoring my perfectly reasonable pleas for caution and blundering about.”

“Blundering!?”

“Yes. I told you we should turn back, but would you listen? Instead you forge ahead blathering about having the eyes of a fox. They don’t seem to have served you well tonight.”

“I have excellent night vision!”

“Then perhaps you might use it now and find a way out of here.”

“If I hadn’t wasted so much time arguing with you, I’d have done that already.”

“How do you imagine that? Do you even have an idea of where we are?”

“Well, obviously, we are in some sort of hole in the ground,” she said, dubiously.

“Ah. Another brilliant deduction.”

“This snide side of you isn’t very attractive, Jack.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“We are clearly in an underground cave of some sort and since there was a way in, there has to be a way out, and I’ll find it!” She said, exuding a confidence she didn’t feel.

She couldn’t see her hand in front of her face—and that wasn’t hyperbole—she’d tried. The moonless night had been dark enough, but this was a darkness like nothing she’d ever experienced.

She heard him snort derisively and her blood boiled. She could picture him, standing imperiously, his arms folded across his chest. He’d probably be leaning—if he’d found a wall nearby to lean on—a smug, self-satisfied look on his face.

She crouched down on the spot, feeling around blindly. She stretched her hands out in front of her as far as she could reach without moving. She was afraid to leave the safety of her current location without knowing what lay ahead. She was loathe to make any more mistakes tonight, or give him anything else to fault her for.

She swept to the right and encountered solid rock. A rather large boulder from the feel of it. It was lucky neither of them had landed on that. Jack’s head, in particular, had a way of being magnetically drawn to hard, unyielding surfaces.

She straightened up again and leaned forward, reaching out to try and locate a wall they might be able to follow to an exit.

Her hands met with another hard, unyielding surface. This one warm and clad in wool suiting. She took a tentative step closer, her hands moving up to find the silk of his tie. She followed it like a map, grazing over the knot to the edge of his collar, the soft, warm skin of his neck, the raised bump of an Adam’s apple. It bobbed as she felt him swallow hard and she smiled wickedly. She didn’t need to see to know the effect her hands had on him.

Next came a stubborn chin, and full lips that were currently pursed tightly. She cupped the sides of his face, the strong jaw against the heels of her hands, her thumbs sweeping his cheeks, the tips of her fingers stroking the lobes of his ears.

“Have you quite finish, Miss Keller?” He inquired, blandly. “Can I expect to be led out of here anytime soon?”

She let her hands fall to his shoulders in a huff. She didn’t dare break contact completely for fear she’d never locate him again, and though he made no effort to move away from her he clearly wasn’t going to make this easy on her. Never one to back down from a challenge, she soldiered on.

Her hands swept down his arms. As she'd suspected, they were crossed in front of his chest defiantly. From there she felt along the buttons of his waistcoat, lifting it slightly to seek the buckle of his belt underneath. His hands clamped around her wrists.

“Don’t.”

“I thought you’d welcome the distraction, Jack,” she purred.

“It’s not a distraction,” he said. Spitting out the last word as though it had insulted him. “At least, not for me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I meant nothing.”

“You meant something. This is about earlier, isn’t it?”

“I’m sorry I blamed you. This isn’t your fault.”

“No, I mean _earlier_.”

“It’s not about anything,” he said. “I was afraid you’d been hurt when you fell, then angry that we’re in this predicament, but I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

His hands came up and rested on her shoulders. "Forgive me?” he asked, giving her shoulders a little squeeze and sending a rather pleasant shiver through her.

“You’re cold,” he said, immediately pulling back to shuck off his coat and wrap it around her shoulders, angry with himself for not thinking of it sooner. Once she was bundled up, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

“Better?”

She worried her lip wondering if she should let him get away with this obvious deflection, then decided it was better than listening to his sarcastic whinging.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” she said, gently. “I may bear just the tiniest bit of responsibility for landing us here.”

He wisely refrained from commenting. She wrapped her arms around him, inside his suit coat, to link them behind his back and leaned into him.

“Do you think there’s any chance we could just climb back out the way we came?” she said. “The slope was not terribly steep.”

“True but there was a bit of a drop at the end there and how do we find it? Can you see any better than I?”

“No,” she sighed. “I've never experienced such darkness. It’s unnerving. And as sorry as I am to have gotten you into this, I’m very glad you’re here with me.”

He hugged her close. He knew she didn’t like dark enclosed spaces and now felt even worse for having been so rough on her earlier.

“We’ll get out of here, Phryne,” he said. “Once it’s light we’ll have a better idea of what we’re up against and, if nothing else, Collins knows where we went. He’ll come looking.”

That didn’t make her feel better. The embarrassment Jack would face after having to be rescued by his subordinates would be on her.

“So, I guess we wait until light? No point _‘blundering’_ about any further,” she said.

“I’m sorry I said that, you couldn’t have known this would happen.”

“But I could have turned back when you wanted to.”

“What were the odds of that?” The smile in his voice lifted her spirits.

“Well, if we’re going to be here awhile, perhaps we should sit down,” she said. “There’s a large boulder just to our right that we could lean against.”

“The ground will ruin your trousers.”

“Darling, I slid several feet along a muddy slope. The trousers are history.”

“Pity. I rather like the way you look in those.”

“Really?”

“Yes. They flatter you immensely.”

“Inspector, have you been ogling me?”

“At every opportunity,” he admitted.

He took hold of her hand so as not to lose her and groped around to find the boulder, settling himself with his back against it.

“Here,” he said, gently tugging her toward him.

He reached out and his other hand brushed against her knee. He followed the path up her thigh to her hips and then placed both hands on her, turning her slowly to guide her to sit between his knees.

Once she was settled, her back to his chest, she laid his coat over them like a blanket. His arms wrapped around her.

“This is rather cozy, isn’t it?” she said.

“I’ve slept worse places, with company that didn’t smell nearly as nice. Try to get some shut eye, it should be light in a few hours.”

“I’m not tired.” She turned in his arms, reaching up to caress his cheek. “I wish I could see your face,” she complained. “I’m rather fond of it.”

He took her hand, kissing her palm gently. “Are you?”

“You know I am. And, just so there’s no misunderstanding, I wasn’t trying to use you as a distraction, Jack. Not that there’s anything wrong with the occasional, mutually agreed upon distraction, but if you think that’s how I think of you, you’re wrong,” she said.

“I know. I was wrong to say that.”

“But, you do think I indulge in other distractions and you disapprove?” She felt him shift uncomfortably, his muscles tensing. 

“It’s not my place to approve or disapprove. You’re entitled to live your life without concern for me.”

“Perhaps I’m entitled to that, Jack, but I don’t want that. You’re of concern to me because I choose to make you my concern and right now I’m concerned you’ve misunderstood something. He’s just a friend—”

“You don’t need to explain,” he interjected.

“—not even a friend,” she continued. “Barely an acquaintance, really. We danced at the Green Mill last night and he stopped by tonight to try to persuade me to join him for a late supper.”

“Well, I’m sorry I prevented that. I shouldn’t have come by uninvited. I’ll be sure to call next time.”

“Jack, he’s the one that was uninvited. You don’t require an invitation.”

“You’re always very welcoming, but I shouldn’t take advantage of that. I shouldn’t assume you will always be available.”

“You’re not listening! He wasn’t invited and he wasn’t staying!” She insisted.

“I told you, there’s no need to explain. It’s none of my business.”

“It is! Well, no it’s not, it’s mine and if I want to explain it, that’s my business too. I danced with him, Jack. That’s all I did. I didn’t invite him to my home. I wasn’t going to accept his invitation. He wasn’t staying. None of them are. Not anymore.”

She sat quietly, letting that sink in for a minute.

“I never asked for that,” he said, quietly.

“I know. It’s what I want.”

Without her sense of sight, all her other senses were heightened and she felt his pulse quicken. Heard his breath coming faster.

“Why?”

It was just a whispered exhale, his breath ghosting across the back of her neck as his head dropped to nuzzle into the hollow of her shoulder. She brought her hand back to wrap around his neck, weaving her fingers up into his hair.

“Because I love you,” she said.

 

* * *

 

She woke, confused and uncomfortable. Her bones complaining violently at having spent the night against the hard, cold earth. Other areas ached a bit too, but that was a more pleasant ache. That jogged her memory and she snuggled in a little closer to the warm mass behind her. She opened her eyes, blinking and looking up.

The opening was a good eight feet above them, and quite small. A few feet to either side and they’d have missed it all together and remained safely above ground.

Jack still slept. His head lolled back against the boulder, his hair falling over his forehead, his arms still wrapped around her and resting in her lap.

She looked around without moving, trying to assess their surroundings without waking him. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dim light.

She gasped softly. There it lay, not three feet away and easily spotted.

“Jack!” she said, nudging him in the ribs. “Wake up, Jack!”

“Good lord!” He complained. He rotated his head in a circle. She could hear the bones in his neck cracking.

“Look, Jack. It’s right there!” She said, moving out from between his knees and crawling away.

He followed, pulling the handkerchief from his pocket and handing it forward. She took it, using it to gingerly lift the pistol from where it lay.

“It’s a Luger PO8,” she said upon closer examination. “Just like the one he bragged to his friends about taking off a German soldier at Belleau Wood.” She turned to hand the pistol to Jack. He wrapped it up carefully in the hopes of preserving any fingerprints before tucking it into the pocket of his suit coat.

He looked up at the light coming through the entrance.

“I might be able to lift you high enough to reach the slope. Then you can climb out and go for help.”

“I’m not leaving you down here alone,” she said.

“I don’t think you have much choice. I’ll be fine on my own until you return.”

She placed her hands on her hips stubbornly. Surveying their surroundings in the growing light.

“That won’t be necessary,” she said, strolling forward and plucking up a length of rope that hung down in plain view. It was attached to a spike that had been driven into the cave wall above their heads. “I don’t think we’re the first to have come down here.”

Jack tugged on the rope. It seemed secure. They could use it to scale the wall until they found their footing.

“You first,” he said. “I’ll stay below so I can catch you if it gives way.”

It held, and she was able to scramble to the surface in no time. She turned to peer into the depth from which she’d just risen. His face was lifted to her, the sunlight encircling him.

“Come on, darling. It’s quite sturdy,” she called, smiling down at him. When he’d nearly reached the top, she stretched out her hand and he grasped on to it, letting her pull him along the rest of the way.

As they brushed the dust from their clothes Senior Constable Hugh Collins came running toward them with three other men on his heels.

“Good morning, Constable,” Jack said. “What brings you out this way?”

“Oh, Jack, you’ve got a smudge,” Phryne said, reaching up to wipe a spot of dirt from Jack’s cheek. He tilted his head to give her better access.

“Well, you, sir,” Hugh stammered, looking from one detective to the other. Other than being a bit dirty, neither looked worse for wear. In fact they seemed quite cheerful.

“Ah. Good of you, but quite unnecessary,” Jack said. “You may return to your normal duties—and Collins, would you be so kind as to take this back to the station?”

He removed the pistol from his pocket, still wrapped in his handkerchief, and handed it over to Hugh.

“Do be careful to preserve any possible prints. We believe it belongs to our suspect,” Phryne said.

“Of course,” Hugh said automatically, taking the bundle from his commanding officer.

“I’ll be in after I’ve had a chance to clean up,” Jack said.

“He’ll be in after he’s gotten some proper sleep,” Phryne corrected.

Jack nodded in concession, extending his arm, and the duo strolled past their would-be search party as though they were taking a walk in the park.

Hugh peered down into the hole and then turned to his fellow officers, who were looking at him with varying expressions of bewilderment.

“Well?” He barked, “You heard the Inspector. Back to work everyone. Nothing to see here.”

**Author's Note:**

> In my imagination the place Phryne and Jack get trapped is a lava tube. An underground cave formed by flowing lava. On a recent trip to Arizona I climbed through one. At one point we stopped and turned off our flashlights. It was completely dark. I couldn't see the person standing right next to me or my hand held in front of my face.


End file.
